You cannot select more than 25 topics
Topics must start with a letter or number, can include dashes ('-') and can be up to 35 characters long.
42 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: Amazon Sidewalk? Not Without Compensation
|
|
layout: post
|
|
date: 2023-03-28 20:47:14
|
|
permalink: /blog/2023/MAR/28-amazon-sidewalk-not-without-compensation.php
|
|
excerpt_separator: <!--more-->
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
Amazon has opened up Sidewalk. But what is it; and why am I demanding compensation for it?
|
|
|
|
<!--more-->
|
|
|
|
I'm sure you've heard of the "Internet of Things". It's a stupid marketing term for devices that use small amounts of bandwidth to provide some
|
|
internet connectivity. I've thought this term was as stupid as "the cloud"...because it indicates it's something special. It's a marketing gimmick
|
|
designed to water-down tech and give people a new buzzword.
|
|
|
|
The "Internet of Things" is just...the internet. Years ago if we put our coffee maker online so we could trigger a brew remotely...we didn't call it
|
|
IoT...the only thing that's changed is...well...marketing.
|
|
|
|
But I digress. Amazon has opened up Sidewalk to any developer. It is an "IoT" network that provides connectivity over 900MHz. This is all fine and good;
|
|
except it's being largely funded BY THE USERS. By default...a lot of Amazon devices will provide an access node for Sidewalk using *your* internet. Yes; they are, by default, sharing your internet
|
|
connection.
|
|
|
|
What do you get in return? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. To make this worse...you literally paid Amazon buying some privacy-invading device that does this.
|
|
|
|
This, IMO, is the worst kind of behavior. Why the fuck should I, or anyone, share my internet connection with people I don't know. Why should I be providing
|
|
what is essentially infrastructure to an Amazon service for nothing in return?
|
|
|
|
Amazon should start forking some kind of incentives for this. I'm paying for the hardware, I'm paying for the internet, I'm paying for the electricity. This should
|
|
not be an opt-out; it should be opt-in.
|
|
|
|
But..I'm sure if they required opt-in...people wouldn't do it and they wouldn't have another service to resell.
|
|
|
|
Years ago a place..I think it was called Fonera or LaFonera; wanted to build a public wifi "network", a way of encouraging companies to offer free wifi back before
|
|
LTE and stuff was a thing. The exception with them was they literally gave you the hardware. Fill out a form, get free hardware. Even had dual-AP support so you could
|
|
have a public AND private AP for your business.
|
|
|
|
Sadly...a lot of people won't do shit about this in the long run. They'll continue to buy these devices, automatically opted in, while a cash-heavy company like Amazon
|
|
continues to make some kind of profit off them. It's not enough you buy shit; but you're also providing a service.
|
|
|
|
Seriously Amazon...stop treating your customers this way. It's highly disrespectful.
|